Rediscover the strings of India

 

For every new music album that hits the stands, there is a growing fear of us losing a bit of our history. While many contemporary musicians are up in arms about preserving India’s traditional music styles, there really isn’t enough being done to save and restore this music.

This time around, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, in collaboration with Sony Music, has put together a series of music albums from NCPA’s archives. These albums include rare recordings of Bangalore’s and Chennai’s legendary musicians, some of which have never been released commercially. The albums include music by Dr Balamuralikrishna, ML Vasanthakumari and MS Gopalalakrishnan. These albums also comprise music from legends Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Jasraj, Bismillah Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Dagar Brothers, Gangubai Hangal, Amjad Ali Khan and Lalgudi Jayaraman to name a few.

Shridhar Subramaniam, president — India and Middle East, Sony Music Entertainment, gives DNA  a glimpse into the whole process… Excerpts of the interview…

 

There must have been a selection process; how did you decide which musicians to focus on for these 11 albums?

Yes, there was a process. During the last year, we approached all the legendary stars, their descendants or estates to seek permissions from them to release these recordings; we also had to get permissions from the accompanists. In the first phase, we reached out to over 50 artistes, most of who gave permissions — some after listening to the recordings etc. From an available pool of 100 hours, we have released the first 20. These are mainly the recordings done at the studio. The release process will take a few years by which time a significant and representative portion of the archives would have been released.

 

Do you think the Indian youth is losing touch with its classical music roots and would this be a good way to reintroduce them? Or are these albums targeted more towards the connoisseurs?

These are recordings by iconic artists at their peak and therefore very precious. Initially it will be connoisseurs and the collectors who will pick this up, but once we have released a significant number of recordings (say over 200 hours) we will begin innovative marketing and distribution efforts to appeal to the youth who may not be familiar with these.

 

People like Gangubai Hangal are no more and her music is difficult to come by. Are you planning to add more deceased musicians’ works to this repertoire of masterworks?

Yes, there are a number of other legends who are part of the archives — Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan and others. These will be added as we complete all formalities with their estates.

 

Not just music, a lot of good cinema has been lost because Indian authorities don’t do much to archive great creations. What more do you think the government can do to enable the arts and culture community to save and restore artistic creations?

Yes, there is a lot more that all of us can do. The government should have a strong archival programme of films, music, spoken word and myriad other art forms. Earlier AIR and Doordarshan would be the custodians of music, but even that has slowed down. Well-funded universities and private educational institutions need to fund and support a strong archival program. The artists themselves need to be open to perform and record for such bodies and finally of course, society should demand such things from the institutions they support. Formal Indian culture and the arts need the support of its people first.

 

Do you think schools and colleges should introduce a subject that teaches the youth about our cultural history — about classical music and dance?

That is the prerogative of the school, the parents and the child of course. However, for those who seek and are inclined to such things, such programmes and facilities should be easily accessible and available. Teaching and preserving tradition and culture is everyone’s responsibility. This cannot be mandated. It then goes against the spirit of the arts and expression.